Council Briefs

Wrong kind of infill

Don’t even think about filling in those garages without
building permits.

That was the message Whistler council sent at Monday’s regular
meeting to residents trying to carve out extra living space from garages while
avoiding taking out required building permits.

Council agreed with staff to slap a notice of contravention on
title against a Tynebridge Lane property that had converted three-quarters of
an attached garage to living space.

Responding to a December complaint, building inspectors gained
access to the garage and confirmed the space had been converted without proper
permits. The owner did not comply with formal requests to “reinstate” the
garage back to original conditions and so staff presented council with a
request to proceed with a title file. Such a file would not allow the property
to be sold without the garage being converted back to its original purpose. The
municipal building department had received more than one complaint recently about
this kind of intransigent infill in Whistler.

Tilting at TILMA

Whether or not a trade agreement between Alberta and B.C. set
to go into force April 1 will have an impact on Whistler’s Green dwellings
initiative set off alarm bells for councillors.

Whistler Council considered a letter from Burnaby Mayor Derek
Corrigan who warns that the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement
(TILMA) between the two provinces will dramatically affect municipalities’
autonomy in tendering for supplies and services.

Corrigan included a staff report that said the agreement, that
ostensibly is supposed to streamline trade requirements between the two
provinces, will instead limit municipalities’ rights to decide what services
they want to purchase and from whom. In addition, zoning changes to minimize
industrial and residential interface could be affected.

Corrigan’s concerns were equally problematic for Whistler
councillors who had just heard an update from planner Guy Patterson about the
Whistler Green program, an initiative that aims to incorporate
environmentally-friendly concepts into residential building standards.

“None of us knew anything about it (TILMA),” Councillor Nancy
Wilhelm-Morden said about first hearing about the agreement last year. “We were
asleep at the switch.”

Wilhelm-Morden pointed out that the agreement “was entered into
by the provinces with very little consultation from any other affected levels
of government or Crown corporations and is also not supported by legislation.”

During the agreement’s first two years there will be
opportunity for review and Whistler will participate in that with other
jurisdictions through the Union of B.C. Municipalities and endeavour to ensure
that municipalities protect their right to govern, Whistler Administrator Bill
Barratt said after the meeting.

More commercial use in park

A zoning amendment bylaw that will allow expanded commercial
use in Lakeside Park passed third reading with none of the furor of previous
meetings.

“There should be commercial uses in park amenities that make
visitors’ experiences special, as well as for locals,” Mayor Melamed said.

Councillor Ralph Forsyth noted due diligence had been completed
through listening to residents’ concerns about noise. Councillor Gord McKeever
stressed the need for security in the park at night.

“We need to be as concerned about security in outlying areas as
we do in the village,” he said.